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Sort of like the garden tub, soaker tub, spa tub, that no one wants but everyone buys for resale?
Actually, I rarely have someone tell me that a fireplace is on their list of wants, needs, or gotta-haves.
It would be hard to put much value in one, IMO.
Mike, when we bought both of these were requirements. But we use the spa tub daily and the fireplace 3-4 times a week in the winter and that was with wood burning last year. We'll likely use the fireplace more now that it's gas.
Growing up we always had a wood burning stove. Loved it. Hated all the work that it required. Now as an adult two of our homes have had gas log inserts and the other two had the plain fireplace. Never once did we burn a real fire - all because of the time and effort involved. The fake fire looks nice and provides a nice homey, warm feel - although I do agree a real fire is better. In my case I prefer easy over hassle.
I do not think I would consider a home without a fireplace (real or insert) - a fireplace is a place to gather around and is central to a home. To me a house without a fireplace would be odd.
Mike, when we bought both of these were requirements. But we use the spa tub daily and the fireplace 3-4 times a week in the winter and that was with wood burning last year. We'll likely use the fireplace more now that it's gas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JaPaKoMom
Growing up we always had a wood burning stove. Loved it. Hated all the work that it required. Now as an adult two of our homes have had gas log inserts and the other two had the plain fireplace. Never once did we burn a real fire - all because of the time and effort involved. The fake fire looks nice and provides a nice homey, warm feel - although I do agree a real fire is better. In my case I prefer easy over hassle.
I do not think I would consider a home without a fireplace (real or insert) - a fireplace is a place to gather around and is central to a home. To me a house without a fireplace would be odd.
Hmmmm...
Whole different poll...
Dealbreakers?
Tub or no Tub?
Fireplace or no Fireplace?
My vote goes for a real wood burning fireplace. Each of our homes that we've lived in has had one. Easy enough to get wood on your own one way or other.
Dealbreakers?
Tub or no Tub?
Fireplace or no Fireplace?
Well, having at least one tub, for the little ones, is a deal breaker. It does not have to be a master bath tub...just a tub in the house -preferably next to kiddos rooms. We had a master tub in the old place and used it maybe 3-4x/year. Our current house does not have one...and we don't miss it at all. We have a tub in the bath near the kiddie rooms and that fits the bill for the practicality of bathing them.
We currently have a wood burning fireplace but having one at all is not a deal breaker for us. Many other factors in our decision making (location, schools, sqft, general flow/layout etc.). Maybe if we lived in a colder climate...maybe then. Honestly though, how easy is it to find a single family without some type of fireplace? When we were searching, all the homes we looked at had one. I will admit, having a mantle is nice to put stuff on.
My guy friends seem to like wood while their wives prefer gas. I wonder if gender plays a role? Also, only concern is that since most new builds are gas (wonder what the percentage is...90%?) some buyers might equate wood burning with "old".
I'm a rather space(y) guy.
When I want a fire I have a pit outside.
I tend to like my fires large so the outdoor fire pit is cool for me....
wait a minute let me rephrase that.
"so the outdoor fire pit" lights my fire, or fires me up, so to speak.
Now for reality...
my home has a Propane Gas Log fireplace and never used it,.
It fired up for the home inspection and never flamed out again.....
It is the best dust collector in my home.
Clean the mantle, clean the pit, clean the step in the
front of it......
but its a place to hang my hat!
Great question, thanks for asking. I am sure once the 'smoke' clears we will know the answer......
I was so excited when we bought our house in 2002 and it had a fireplace. I dreamed of all those winter nights with the fireplace crackling while we were snug and warm in our house. We bought the house in July and the ice storm came in December. The fireplace did an admirable job of keeping us warm during the 4 days without power. We dragged our mattress into the living room and hung blankets to keep the heat in that one room. But the work involved. Oh my goodness. All night long we had to get up and add logs and stoke the fire. If we had to run out during the day, I was in a panic until we got home because I was afraid the house would burn down (yes, we used a fireplace screen).
I think we had maybe 10 more fires over the next 14 years that we lived there. It was too much work and the house smelled afterwards.
When we looked for our new house in the mountains, one of the main things on our list was a gas fireplace (and a gas stove, we love to cook). We found our house and it had both. We also have installed a whole house generator. Now the house will stay warm if the power goes out. We're on a shared well with no back up power, so we won't have water, but we will have heat! And now I can enjoy a fire in the fireplace without all the work involved.
A wood-burning fireplace was on our must-have list when we were house hunting 5 years ago. We found a house (built in 1986) with one that had been converted to gas. We converted it back to wood soon after we moved in. We use it constantly in the winter.
I was so excited when we bought our house in 2002 and it had a fireplace. I dreamed of all those winter nights with the fireplace crackling while we were snug and warm in our house. We bought the house in July and the ice storm came in December. The fireplace did an admirable job of keeping us warm during the 4 days without power. We dragged our mattress into the living room and hung blankets to keep the heat in that one room. But the work involved. Oh my goodness. All night long we had to get up and add logs and stoke the fire. If we had to run out during the day, I was in a panic until we got home because I was afraid the house would burn down (yes, we used a fireplace screen).
I think we had maybe 10 more fires over the next 14 years that we lived there. It was too much work and the house smelled afterwards.
When we looked for our new house in the mountains, one of the main things on our list was a gas fireplace (and a gas stove, we love to cook). We found our house and it had both. We also have installed a whole house generator. Now the house will stay warm if the power goes out. We're on a shared well with no back up power, so we won't have water, but we will have heat! And now I can enjoy a fire in the fireplace without all the work involved.
How long does it take the smell to dissipate?
And I can see feeling skittish about running out with it burning... and how you have to commit to being at home for a huge chunk of the day.
So do the ashes end up a great distance from the fireplace? Could it damage furniture?
I don't mind buying a bundle of firewood because it wouldn't be a constant usage of the fireplace. But the commitment to staying at home and keeping a watchful eye out is concerning.
I love real wood fireplaces and had one in our last house... but it triggered my allergies which was no fun.
Now we have an externally vented gas fireplace which we use pretty much every evening in the winter. It has a blower and burns the cold outside air instead of the warm inside air so it produces a lot of heat. I use it as a space heater and turn off the furnace for the rest of the house while I'm in that room.
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